2020 final Fantasy Live rankings: 34th
2021 championship odds: 1,000-1
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
What’s new: No significant changes will alter the core of the StarCom Racing group as Quin Houff returns for the second season of his two-year contract with the No. 00 team, paired again with George Church as crew chief. One twist: StarCom team manager Derrike Cope is set to make his first Cup Series start since 2018, making a final run at notching his second Daytona 500 crown in a Rick Ware Racing one-off.
Team/driver outlook: Houff’s 2020 season was marked by a bright career high (a rugged 13th place at Talladega Superspeedway in October) and a nonsensical low (a lapse in judgment that triggered a crash at Texas Motor Speedway in July and a subsequent questioning of his racing cred by his rivals). The 23-year-old Virginian has plenty of room to grow, and some planned upgrades in the team’s equipment may help achieve some of those modest goals, but cleaning up the unforced errors will be a must.